Friday morning’s fire at the former Regatta has been determined to be arson, officials said.

The fire had “multiple points of origin,” said Fall River Fire Lt. William Powers.

“There’s a decent amount of damage,” Powers said, adding that the fire caused $40,000 in property damage and $8,000 in damages to contents inside the building.

“The inside was pretty much gutted,” said Powers, who declined to release any further details of how the fire started, noting that investigation is still ongoing.

The new owners of The Regatta had hoped to open by early summer after extensive renovations for a sit-down restaurant and function hall, Mayor Will Flanagan said in January.

Flanagan also said the new owners aimed to bring in 100 new jobs with the new business.

Officers on patrol overnight spotted smoke just before 6 a.m. Friday, investigated, and found the floor of one section of the building was engulfed in flames. Firefighters had the fire under control by 6:55 a.m.

“It’s suspicious,” Flanagan said after he arrived at the scene.

“We will work with fire investigators to determine who caused the fire and make sure that that person or persons is held responsible,” Flanagan added.

Fall River and Massachusetts State Police fire investigators were on scene as late as 1:30 p.m. Friday. Four National Grid vehicles also arrived at the property just after 11 a.m. to ensure that the electricity to the site was turned off. Powers said there had only been one electric feed going into the back of the building, near the docks.

City businessmen Peter Cabral and Thomas Richardson Jr. bought the 2.2-acre property along 200 feet of the Taunton River for $3.5 million from Paula and Joseph Ruggiero Sr.

Fall River District Fire Chief James Mellon said Friday morning that the fire appeared to have started underneath what used to be the building’s kitchen area. One firefighter who was walking across the floor fell through the apparently fire-weakened surface, landing underneath the building.

The firefighter was “not badly” injured, according to Mellon.

Another firefighter was attempting to ventilate the building by pulling sheet metal off a wall in the kitchen when the metal broke loose and sliced his hand.

The building was under renovation.

Mellon said the fire appeared to have been burning for quite awhile prior to police spotting the smoke. Mellon said one of the 20-inch wooden beams underneath the floor burned down to six inches, and that 8 to 10 floor joints in the kitchen area were burned through.